cover image Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story

Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story

Robyn Doolittle. Penguin Canada/Viking (Penguin, North American dist.), US$26/C$30 (367p) ISBN 978-0-670-06811-1

Those expecting more salacious details about Rob Ford, Toronto's train-wreck of a mayor, will be disappointed with this book from Toronto Star reporter Doolittle. It's no shock to learn that in his early days as mayor, his hapless wife, Renata, seeks help for Ford, who "still thinks he's going to party." Even what passes for skullduggery in City Hall politics is tame. But the book delivers in decidedly crucial matters. It answers the question that has flummoxed many: How did an enfant terrible like Ford become mayor in the first place? It addresses the lack of transparency in Canada that has made it "extraordinarily difficult" for journalists to dig up even the most basic facts about public figures. And Doolittle dares to venture on the shudder-inducing prospect of "Ford more years." With only three months to whip up a book, Doolittle has, however, regrettably cut corners. We learn that despite all their dysfunctions and addictions, "by all accounts, the Ford kids had a happy childhood," with no one to support or dispute that. She also relies on other journalists' reportage to illuminate her analysis, including reiterating the largely held but highly contestable assumption that immigrants (a.k.a. "the strivers") are propping up Ford Nation. Agent: Martha Magor Webb, Anne McDermid & Associates. (Feb.)